Big Capitalist

At this moment, in the kitchen of Count Leo's manor, the heat had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of food.

Konan was drenched in sweat, and all his strength seemed to have been drained away. He leaned tiredly on the chair, looking like a burnt-out candle, exhausted.

Ed and Carlisle were cleaning the kitchen in an orderly manner. The crisp sound of cutlery colliding echoed in the quiet kitchen.

That’s right, all the dishes that Merlin prepared for the banquet he entertained everyone from the Aize Federation and the Second Prince Andor today were cooked by Conan.

This young man, who was originally a top culinary student at the Fighting Academy, has been transformed into a skilled chef under Merlin's careful training.

While Ed and Carlisle were busy, they looked at Angelica and Belinda who were leisurely eating their food nearby, and couldn't help but say, "You two should come and help, there's a lot of work to do in the kitchen."

Angelica playfully shook the spoon in her hand and responded, "I'm just helping out, dealing with the extra food."

Ke Nan said weakly, "What do you mean by leftovers? This is the extra food they made. And remember to leave some for us too."

Carlisle asked doubtfully while washing the dishes, "Aren't we here at Guild Master Merlin's house for vacation? Why does it feel like we're just working here?"

"Don't use 'seems', we're just working." Ke Nan couldn't help but complain.

Ed smiled helplessly. "At least we get paid for working, but Guild Master Merlin doesn't pay us. Maybe this counts as social practice?"

Belinda swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "Merlin actually paid for it, just like teaching Conan to make these Oberon dishes. These are all secrets that have just been deciphered. If the secret recipes of these dishes were sold, each one would fetch at least tens of thousands of gold coins."

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door. Stacie poked her head in with a gentle smile on her face. She stepped in and asked, "Is lunch ready today?"

Ke Nan pointed to the packed lunch boxes neatly arranged on the table beside him and said, "It's been prepared a long time ago."

Stacy smelled the fragrant aroma of the food and exclaimed in admiration, "Kenan's cooking skills are really getting better and better."

As she spoke, the shadows behind her continued to extend like nimble tentacles, easily picking up the packed lunch boxes one by one.

Seeing this, Ed quickly asked, "Senior Stacy, do you need help?"

Stacie smiled and waved her hand: "No need, you've been busy for so long, you must be exhausted, you need to rest well."

Angelica asked curiously, "Senior Stacy, what are the seniors and juniors busy with?"

While controlling Shadow to carry the lunch boxes, Stacy said, "There are too many things to deal with in the territory. Scarlett has been helping at the construction site, Yuna is busy with the Chamber of Commerce's affairs, Arthur seems to be concentrating on training soldiers, and..."

“It’s really hard—”

Everyone present couldn't help but have this thought in their mind, as if as long as they followed President Merlin, there would always be endless things to do.

Especially Scarlett, who originally wanted to come here for a vacation to relax, but who could have expected that Garant would come here with a construction company.

She must be regretting it now. If she had known earlier, she would have stayed in the academy.

Meanwhile, in the restaurant, Merlin looked at everyone, who seemed to be eager to eat. With a friendly smile on his face, he asked, "How was everyone's meal?"

The people present responded enthusiastically, praising it: "It is indeed a dish from the Oberon civilization. It is truly unforgettable."

At this time, Andorra asked, "Merlin, what exactly is the treasure you mentioned before the meal?"

When the people of the Aize Federation heard this, they immediately became interested and turned their eyes to Merlin.

Merlin smiled and said, "I have prepared it for you a long time ago. I will show it to you now."

As he spoke, he waved his hand gently, and a servant walked in with steady steps, carrying an antique wooden box.

The servant carefully opened the wooden box and saw a soft velvet cushion inside. On the cushion, an object shaped like a small bowl was quietly placed.

The people present gathered around to check it out, and one of them asked, "Can I touch it?"

Merlin nodded and said, "Of course, this is a treasure we found from the ruins of Oberon. But be careful, it's quite brittle."

In the continent of Aize, there are its own rules for appreciating antiques.

Although they say it is a skill they can use verbally, in reality everyone uses the "Hand of the Mage" skill.

After all, human hands have temperature, and each person's grip strength is different, which can easily cause damage to antiques.

Andorra looked at the "small bowl" held by the "magician's hand" and couldn't help but say, "This doesn't look like a bowl at all. It's too small. And I've never seen the material of this object before. It looks like jade but not jade, like stone but not stone. Could it be pottery? But it doesn't look like it!"

Everyone in the Aize Federation was amazed, and then couldn't wait to ask Merlin: "What on earth is this?"

Merlin smiled and explained, "We just learned from the deciphered information that this thing is called 'Jianzhan'. It's not ordinary pottery, but an extremely noble porcelain."

"Porcelain?" This is a brand new word in the Aize continent, and everyone looked confused.

Someone immediately asked, "What is porcelain?"

Merlin cleared his throat and spoke solemnly, "Porcelain is crafted using an extremely complex and ancient process. The production process is extremely tedious, requiring numerous meticulous steps, and every step cannot tolerate the slightest error. Jianzhan teapots of this quality are extremely rare during the firing process. During the Oberon civilization, porcelain was reserved for royalty and nobility, and only the truly refined were entitled to enjoy it. It is completely different from common objects like gold and silver. The artistic value and cultural heritage contained in porcelain far surpass those of commonplace objects."

"Is this something used by the nobles of the Oberon civilization? I have to say, this thing really looks exquisite." Someone couldn't help but sigh.

Merlin continued, "These unearthed Jianzhan porcelains have endured the erosion of time, so naturally they are no longer as flawless as they were when they were first fired. It's a shame that the porcelain firing techniques have been lost over the course of time. Otherwise, given the allure of Oberon civilization porcelain, the entire Aize continent wouldn't have discovered them until now."

After listening to Merlin's explanation, everyone nodded in agreement.

Only then did they realize that this porcelain was extremely difficult to make and that its value far exceeded common items such as gold, silver, and magic stones. It was indeed a symbol of aristocratic status and taste.

It is worthy of being the mysterious and elegant Oberon civilization!